Jul 25, 2019

Navigating Connectivity Options for Micro Markets

By Rob Ramage

Category: Retail

Last updated Nov 10, 2022

Micro markets require connectivity to allow customers to pay at the kiosk, check their account balance, report inventory levels, allow diagnostics, update firmware, provide sales data, and more. In today's post, we'll discuss the various connectivity options for micro markets.

The connection types include Local Internet Connections, local Wi-Fi, purchased air cards, MiFi, jetpack, purchased hardware, and data plans, and fully managed solutions. It’s important to evaluate the benefits of each one to figure out which option will fit your needs in order to reduce downtime, speed up the installation time, cut down service calls, provide help with troubleshooting, save money, and generate more revenue.

Here is a breakdown of the pros and cons to help you determine which connectivity option is best for you.

Existing Local Internet Connections

Pros

Cons

No monthly data costs

Decent bandwidth speeds

Getting permission from IT can be a lengthy process and involve high implementation costs

Possible need to open firewalls or to enable security rules with IT can be burdensome

Static IP connections are rare

Can suffer from spotty internet service or poor download/upload speed

Local IT may be resistant or unwilling to troubleshoot your potential internet issues

Local Wi-Fi

Pros

Cons

No monthly data costs

Not a secure connection method

Limited range or distance

Network names and passwords are subject to change

Slow connections

Wi-Fi may not be PCI compliant

Purchased Aircard, MiFi, or Jetpack

Pros

Cons

Set-up is fairly simple

Monthly data costs

Subject to either overage or slowing after certain data thresholds

To reset lost connections usually requires a manual power cycle

Designed for personal, not commercial use

Purchased Hardware & Set-Up Data Plan

Pros

Cons

You have full control of the hardware and data plans

Monthly data costs

Setting up the configurations with all of the different options can be difficult for a novice

Coordinating data plans to be as low as possible without hitting overages can be a balancing act

Maintaining portfolios with software versions can require dedicated resources to communications

Unlikely that you would want to coordinate both billing and data plans with more than one carrier

If only using a single carrier, some locations may suffer from poor coverage or limited bandwidth

Managed Solutions

Pros

Cons

Single source of contact 24/7 support

Ease of installation for virtual plug and play. When specific routing or settings are needed, dedicated technical support to assist set-up

Security, connectivity, profiles, firmware are handled

Ability to have multiple carriers and just pay one bill

Carrier options to provide the best coverage and bandwidth in any given area

Purchase and lease options available

Monthly data costs

Possible threat to job security for dedicated communication staff

Based on your company’s needs and how many resources are being allocated for communications, an evaluation of the listed pros and cons should help determine which method of connectivity works best for you.

With more pros than cons, managed connectivity is always a great option for micro markets. By outsourcing the mission-critical component of connectivity to a dedicated team of experts you can be sure to have the greatest uptime and reliability available. To learn more about how OptConnect provides reliable fully-managed connectivity for micro markets, click here.